March of Steel
by TheFamousEccles
Summary: When Vassily Kasparov was shipped out to Sundance he thought it would be a quiet post. He didn't reckon on bandits, warlords...and the Clans. Looks like its not going to be so quiet. Check back frequently for updates. If you've got a problem with swearing
1. Exile

CHAPTER 1: EXILE "_Kasparov is a capable Mechwarrior who's great gunnery skill will see him go far…he is one of the best shots I have seen in my life…all he needs to do is work on his ruthless nature and attitude problems"-excerpts from Vassily Kasparov's academy report _ **12-3-3070** **KENTARES IV**

**Davion Palace**

Lieutenant Vassily Kasparov stared out across the grounds of the Davion Palace on Kentares IV to the huge crowd of protestors on the other side of the hastily erected chain link fence 'goddampansy-assed pacifists shits'he thought "Permission to starburst this crowd" He asked again in a surly Russian accent.

"For the last time no Kasparov, we are not firing on the protestors" Command replied in an irritated voice.

"Acknowledged" Kasparov surrendered temporarily. If things got out of hand he was perfectly safe. He was sitting in the cockpit of a Davion-built _Shadowcat_, originally a Clan designed medium Omnimech capable of fighting well above its weight class due to its firepower and high adaptability. It was a bird-like design with a low, squat torso that held the boxy center torso and wedge-like left and right torso, the cockpit was of his own design: a smooth cone with the canopy bulging out slightly, not unlike the cockpit of a Stormcrow. The mech's right arm held a pair of Clan Medium Lasers, the boxy weapon mount ending in two stubby barrels. The other arm held a Clan Heavy Laser and another Clan Medium Laser. The shoulder mounts carried Clan Streak Short Range Missiles or SRMs. Kasparov's secret weapon was the Clan Long Range Missile mounted unlike most missiles in a rack but in a single barreled launcher, the extra range allowed him to get the drop on his enemies and engage Lights and some Mediums before he came in range of them. Additionally he could guide the single missile 'fly by wire' straight into the cockpit of an opposing mech.

"Holy shit they've knocked the fence over!" came over the comm.

Kasparov looked up just in time to see the crowd of protestors swarming across the Davion Palace grounds. This was as good an excuse as any; he swung the 'Mech to face the far side of the mob and depressed the triggers on the control columns. The _Shadowcat's_ starburst guns roared to life, spitting out a hail of white tracers, the shells burst just over the heads of the protestors delivering a miniature lightning storm to their brains. The static electricity stored in the shells burst out and sought ground through the crowd the first part it hit was their heads, delivering up to 80 000 volts direct to the brains of the protestors. Most simply collapsed unconscious but about twenty died their brains unable to cope with the massive electrical current. Kasparov swung across the crowd creating a cloud front of white discs over the head of the mob. They stopped slowly, still more succumbing to the starbursts exploding overhead, then they ran, piling out the hole in the fence just as fast as they had come in.

"Kasparov you stupid fuck! You are in deep shit…"


	2. In The Ass End of Nowhere

CHAPTER 2: IN THE ASS END OF NO-WHERE

"_Sundance would have been a great planet to live on if Skyne had done some market research, unfortunately they didn't and look where it got them"-A tourist's opinion on the planet Sundance_

**14-4-3070**

**SUNDANCE**

**Burningham**

Vassily realized just what deep shit meant as the judge handed him his sentence. For unauthorized use of force resulting in injury and death he was given five years service on the remote, war-torn desert planet Sundance. Sundance was a hole, it was going to be a summer resort for the rich but when the investors, Skyne Luxury realized that no one wanted to spend their holiday on a desert planet they pulled the funding. Since then Sundance's history had been made by whoever had staged the last successful coup. The planet was in a constant state of war, so it was really no different from the rest of the Inner Sphere, or the known galaxy at large for that matter. That was what Kane had gathered from reading the file on Sundance. He surveyed the capital city from the spaceport pad, standing fifty metres from the _Talon_ Dropship that sat on the dusty pad, disgorging its contents through the massive doors on its flanks. The city was fairly unimpressive, a sprawl of low prefab buildings, the highest of which was three stories tall. In the distance Kasparov could see the distinctive shape of a Mech hanger. He turned back to the Dropship where his 'Mech was being piloted towards a boarding gantry by remote. He turned away from the city and climbed up the boarding gantry. His 'Mech had been repainted, gone was its Home Guard markings, replaced with an Ace of Spades on the shoulders, weapon mounts and shin armour. A curved plate of armour had been added over each shoulder and under the cockpit a chin gun holding two Clan Machine Guns had also been added, his 'Mech looked noticeably, but not significantly different and it was common practice for various units to give their 'Mechs slight body modifications to make them stand out. Kane had to admit that his 'Mech did look a bit cooler with the extra armour and guns, at least they hadn't altered his weapons, the three Medium Lasers, one Heavy Laser, two Streak SRM 6 packs and Single Tube LRM Launcher were all still there, plus the twin MGs in the Clan Mad Dog style chin gun. Reflecting on that, Kasparov was planning to move up to a _Mad Dog_ once he got off his _Shadowcat_, which he was rather attached to. Kasparov strapped into the _Shadowcat's_ seat and slipped in his Neurohelmet, the Neurohelmet was a mechwarrior's interface for micromanagement of his 'Mech, pumping information about the 'Mech's status directly into the pilot's brain and allowing the pilot to interface with the 'Mech with a single thought. Kasparov glanced around the cockpit, a small rectangular bath with screens on the walls and banks of switches in between the screens. Davion was slowly moving towards touch screen interfaces but until then the good old switches would fill the gap. Kasparov flicked all the switches on the bank labeled 'Power' and the 'Mech shuddered to life, Kasparov kicked a lever with his foot and pressed down on the accelerator pads. The 'Mech started walking backwards out of the gantry and turned to face the dusty street that led to the Mech Hangar…

**21-4-3070**

SUNDANCE 

**Burningham Firing Range**

Kasparov was calibrating the mechanical sights on his 'Mech when the attack came. He lined up the small wafers on the target and fired, the mechanical sights were a pair of small rectangular wafers of steelglass with crosshairs painted on them. The mechanical sights were a backup used when a pilot's targeting system was out and he was unable to eyeball the target. Vassily's attention was diverted from his task by a warning beep from the radar. Vassily looked down at the display, about a dozen red dots had appeared on the radar as it zoomed out. The hostiles had actually shown up on the other side of the city to Vassily.

"Kasparov we've got hostiles moving in! Perimeter beacons show them as members of Dominic Lagone's criminal organization" Someone at Command filled Kasparov in.

"What! Lagone's boys! I told them bastards never to come back here again!" General Douglas McGuire, the Sundance Militia's Commander-in-Chief snapped in an indignant Cowboy accent.

"Well sir let's show 'em what happens when you mess with the Sundowners!" Commander Angus McGuire said enthusiastically. Commander McGuire was the leader of the 'Sundowners', which was what Sundance's 'Mech unit, had named themselves.

"This is Lieutenant Kasparov moving to engage, can anyone ID the targets?" Vassily asked over the comm.

"Second Infantry Platoon here, looks like we've got about eight vehicles consisting of four Vedettes, two SRM Carriers and two Bulldogs. Uh, 'Mech wise there's an _Urbanmech_, two Ravens and a…oh my God they've got a _Cougar_" The leader of some Infantry group reported.

Vassily pushed the accelerator pads down to maximum and turned the 'Mech back towards the city. He began arming his weapons as the _Shadowcat_ sprinted through Burningham…

It took Vassily three minutes to arrive and the battle was already well underway. The infantry had long since retreated and only the _Cougar_, one of the _Ravens_, a single Bulldog and the SRM Carriers were still fighting. On the Sundowner's side were about thirty 'Mechs of various descriptions. Most were of a kind rarely seen outside of Sundance, when Sundance was first colonized one of the first investors was a 'Mech company named Lagone LTD. They set up shop on Sundance and began producing an odd-looking Heavy 'Mech called a _Sunslayer_. When the money left Sundance so did the company, except for Lagone who was convinced that Sundance's government had conspired against him. Lagone's _Sunslayer_ was a combination of several 'Mechs; its Centre Torso was that of a _Vulture_ with a tapering, rectangular cockpit _Vulture_ body's 'beak'. The LRM 15 missile pods from the _Vulture_ also remained and mounted on their flanks were two stubby arms. One either arm were two tube shaped weapon pods each holding a tight cluster of three long barrels belonging two a single RAC5. Under the 'Mech's chin was a turret holding a single Medium Laser.

"Glad to see you joined us Kasparov" General McGuire said, he was piloting a Steiner 'Mech called a _Thundeneer_. Somewhat like a _Hellbringer_ in appearance but with a Timber Wolf's arm on side holding a two Heavy Lasers and a stubby horizontal arm on the other side holding a trio of Medium Lasers. The _Thundeneer_ also had a small cylindrical missile pod on its right shoulder above a cluster of Small Lasers. The _Thundeneer_ caught sight of its target, the last _Raven_ and fired of its two Heavy Lasers, slicing off the _Raven's_ missile pod. The _Raven_ returned fire with a barrage of Medium Lasers, most simply melted patches of the _Thundeneer's_ armour but one got lucky and hit the shoulder joint of the _Thundeneer_. Something inside the shoulder went up in a roaring explosion doing far more damage than a Medium Laser should have. When the smoke cleared the _Thundeneer's_ right shoulder had been completely blown away leaving a smoking crater. "Good thing I didn't pack many missiles" General McGuire finally said sounding thoroughly relieved.

"Dad…I mean sir! Are you alright?" Angus McGuire asked in a panicky voice.

"I'm fine son" General McGuire reassured his son.

Kasparov turned his attention back to the _Raven_; it was trying to pull the same trick again. He lined it up with all four Medium Lasers and fired them at the _Raven's_ guns. The shots connected and blew the _Raven's_ guns to shreds. Without pausing Kasparov fired his Heavy Laser at the _Raven's_ leg, the thin Light's armour proved no match for Kasparov's Clan laser. It sliced clean through the shin and the Raven toppled over only to be finished off by a barrage of RAC fire from Commander McGuire's _Sunslayer_. The _Raven_ exploded in a ball of fire that threw shrapnel far and wide.

"Incoming" Kasparov's computer informed him.

Vassily looked in the direction of the last enemy, the _Cougar_. It was facing him and had fired all its LRMs at his _Shadowcat's_ cockpit, "Oh shit" Vassily said to himself. He punched in a code on one of the screens. The slot below it shot out a Battlerom containing everything in the mech's memory files. The computer then wiped the memory files blank. It was time to leave, Kasparov pulled the lever and explosive bolts blasted off the canopy. One second later his chair rocketed into the sky.

_Two seconds._

The 'Mech ran its final program; small explosives placed around the computer core detonated destroying the memory chips and preventing any enemy from learning anything about the mech. Three seconds, the _Cougar_ fired its two Clan Heavy Lasers enveloping the cockpit in a bright explosion.

_Four seconds._

The swarm of LRMs impacted on the cockpit, the missiles detonated and the 'Mech was blown to pieces; all that remained was a foot and a shower of metal fragments. The rockets on Vassily's chair fired again, slowing its descent. The chair hit the ground with bone jarring force; Vassily quickly undid the straps and stood up. A small piece of metal from his mech landed in front of him. It was a diamond shaped shard that could have come from any part of the mech. Kasparov picked it up and slid it into his pocket, he turned back to the chair. A small box had opened up containing a backpack and a laser rifle. Vassily picked both up and sprinted up the nearest hill to see the rest of the battle play out.

The _Cougar_ was hiding behind a small hill, but that wouldn't save it from thirty battlemechs most of which were Heavy _Sunslayers_. It was over in a blinding flash of lasers and missiles. Kasparov turned to begin the long trek back home.

**4-5-3070**

Vassily examined his reflection in the mirror as he shaved. He was like all Mechwarriors well built with short hair, Vassily's hair was brown and probably a bit longer than it should have been and he had steel coloured eyes that had given him a Targeting Average of 99.5, One Vassily had finished shaving he pulled on his jacket and walked out to the Mech Hangar where he'd been ordered to meet the mechanic who had been assigned to him.

Sarah Ordivodsky was exactly what Kasparov had expected of a mechanic, coarse, gruff and short tempered. She was definitely Russian and had long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail. "I have a present for you" She said in a Californian accent that brought a cascade of memories back for Vassily. She led him to the back of the Hangar, where a gleaming _Sunslayer _stood in its own bay "This is it, your new 'Mech"

Vassily looked over the _Sunslayer_, admiring the Heavy 'Mech's appearance and deadly firepower.

"She's all ready to be taken for a spin," Sarah said. Just then battle klaxons blared out and someone was shouting over the PA.

"Alert! Alert! Hostile forces sighted moving towards the city! All personnel battle stations repeat all personnel battle stations! This is not a drill!"

"Well lets if it works" Kasparov commented as he raced to and began climbing the gantry up to the 'Mech's cockpit.

"Hey wait, it hasn't got any ammunition loaded yet!" Sarahyelled.

Vassily had already jumped into the cockpit "What?" he yelled back as he brought the 'Mech online.

"I haven't got its ammunition yet! No missiles or Laser power packs just the AC shells!"

"Shit" Vassily growled to himself, this wasn't going to be easy without LRMs. He made the 'Mech sprint out into the city, dodging the base personnel running to their various posts. Ten minutes later Vassily caught sight of the enemy force, Lagone's boys again this time with two Lances of _Yellow Jackets_, light four legged 'Mechs armed with Large Lasers. They were escorting their own _Thundeneer_ and a small army of vehicles was following. Vassily immediately fired off a burst from his RACs, the barrels spinning into a gunmetal gray blur. A hail of AC shells showered Lagone's attack force, blasting off chunks of armour and punching holes in several vehicles. Vassily directed some more accurate fire from the Medium Laser on the swarm of vehicles, wasting three tanks and an LRM carrier. Then the mob returned fire as the _Sunslayer_ sprinted for cover and found it behind a sand dune. The _Sunslayer_ moved out from the other side of the hill and resumed its barrage demolishing another four vehicles. The _Thundeneer_ fired off a barrage of LRMs at Vassily who dodged them easily.

"Hold on boy we'll be there in five" General McGuire's voiced filled Vassily's cockpit. Vassily ignored it and began to move back towards Burningham, hoping to survive long enough to lure the enemy force into a trap. It took him another four minutes to lure Lagone's boys back to the base when a call came over the GenNet comm. channel:

"Defenders of Burningham I am Dominic Lagone I bear you no grievances despite the fact that you side with the people who betrayed me and left me to rot here. I have several more Lances of Battlemechs following; simply send out the representatives of Lagone LTD, have a ship to take me away from this hole and you will never hear from me again" a voice with a Latino accent said.

"Ha! Never hear from you again don't bullshit me Lagone! If you want those people Lagone you're going to have to come through the Burningham military! And did you really think we'd have a Jumpship just so you can go harass the good people of some other planet?" General McGuire replied in a voice laden with amusement designed to anger Lagone.

Before Lagone could reply Vassily cut in "Mr. Lagone, anything to do with your company is long gone, they took everything when they realized what a shithole this planet is. It's not their fault you missed the last train home, sell your mechs a buy a ticket off. This planet doesn't have Jumpship, the Burningham military's Dropship is barely airworthy" Vassily waited for a reply.

"Who the hell are you Ruskie?" Lagone snapped derisively.

"Lieutenant Vassily Kasparov, the one who just fragged all your vehicles and is about to do it again" Vassily replied as he snuck the 'Mech out behind Lagone with the 'Mech's rather basic stealth systems engaged. The stealth systems being him trying to avoid making too much heat. They wouldn't hide him if Lagone was looking hard at his Heat Scanners but he was behind them so they still had to turn around either way. There was a weak point on the _Thundeneer_: a big service hatch that was used to remove the engine, it could be blasted open if Vassily could hit it right. He squeezed the triggers and the barrels began to spin. They would know he was here now, one Lance of Yellow Jackets turned around followed by three tanks. At the last moment Vassily switched his target and RAC shells burrowed under the cupola ring of a Yellow Jacket's turret, eating into the thin, unarmoured metal there. The Yellow Jacket's body exploded in a fireball blasting the turret clean into the air. A pair of jeeps opened fire with their ACs the rounds knocking the _Sunslayer's_ shoulder backwards and throwing Vassily's aim off and his rounds splattered across a commercial building punching holes in its plexiglass windows. Vassily fried the jeeps with fired the_ Sunslayer's _RACs, the sweeping fire blasted the Jeeps as well as a Vedette. By that time the _Thundeneer_ had turned around and fired both its Heavy Lasers at Vassily's _Sunslayer_ slicing clean through the mech's spindly left arm. The weapon mount fell to the ground with a crash and suddenly Vassily only had one RAC. He splattered gunfire over another Yellow Jacket, the rounds punched through the cupola ring and the small quadruped 'Mech crashed to the ground, its turret blown clean off and its reactor put out of action. Unfortunately the _Thundeneer_ was realigning its sights on Vassily's cockpit. He ran for it, spinning the _Sunslayer_ around and sprinting down a side road, the _Thundeneer_ hit the _Sunslayer's_ back with a barrage of SRMs as it ran, blasting away half of the right radiator fin. Vassily was thrown against his restraints by the blast; he was in serious trouble now, with the radiator fin gone the _Sunslayer_ would heat up more, and Lagone LTD had never managed to solve the _Sunslayer's _heating problems before the pulled the funding and the _Sunslayer_ ran incredibly hot at the best of times. Vassily now had four disadvantages: 1) He was outnumbered, 2) He was damaged, 3) His LRMs had no ammunition, 4) His radiator fin was wrecked which meant the 'Mech would generate plenty of heat that had nowhere to go. Serious problem, Vassily resorted to the comm., "General McGuire do you have updates on the position of re-enforcements? I am damaged and need assistance."

"Hold on Kasparov, we're nearly there" General McGuire replied.

"Great" Vassily said snidely, 'I'll have to do this myself' he thought. He checked his radar; the Lance of Yellow Jackets and five Bulldog Medium Tanks were hunting him. Then he checked his Heat Meter, it was slowly rising, he could feel the heat buildig up in his cockpit. The rest of the attack force was holding position and blasting away with active sensor pings. Fortunately the buildings would hide him especially since he wasn't generating any heat and the Sunslayer had a very low EM signature that somewhat made up for it standing out like an _Overlord _Dropship in the middle of a desert on infrared scans. If they put even the slightest effort into scanning for heat sig…

And they did, the _Yellow Jackets_ split into two pairs and moved to flank him while the Bulldogs grouped up and rolled onward. The tanks came into sight first and remaining gun, the first tank exploded, followed by the second, the third managed to get off a pair of SRMs which blew a chunk out of the _Sunslayer's_ left missile pod before being destroyed. The final Bulldog fired five rounds from its AC. Two missed, exploding on the wall of a warehouse, the other three made a line of craters up the _Sunslayer's_ leg but fell just short of getting through the armour. The _Sunslayer_ stumbled and the Bulldog was able to get of a seven round burst followed by four SRMs. This time four AC rounds crashed into the left missile pod, blasting craters through the armour, two SRMs followed the AC rounds in and ripped a section of Endo Steel internal structure apart. One SRM missed and the other one crashed into the _Sunslayer's_ Centre Torso barely a metre above cockpit mercifully it did no damage. But it did frighten Vassily enough to dissolve the Bulldog into a molten puddle of slag with his RAC5. Vassily returned his attention to the _Yellow Jackets_ just in time to be hit by a Medium Laser from all sides, one melted a plate of the back of the right missile pod, two melted glowing red craters in the center torso and one hit the mech's head, wrecking the non-functional Medium Laser. Vassily returned with a burst of RAC5 fire and cut a _Yellow Jacket's_ leg off, he then fired through the cupola ring and blew it to pieces, the shock wave bowled the other _Yellow Jacket_ over into a small warehouse and exposing its unarmoured belly to a stream of RAC fire as Vassily ran past it, turning the 'Mech into a blackened shell smothered in flames. The last two _Yellow Jackets_ scurried back to the main force. But not before Vassily managed to cut one off and blast it to pieces, Vassily managed to loose a burst at the retreating Yellow Jacket but succeeded only in melting a few craters in its armour. Vassily checked his radar, more vehicles moving in and judging by their EM signatures it was four Partisan Heavy Tanks, each armed with four AC2s. Partisans were low, squat vehicles with a cube shaped turret that held four barrels, two on each side. Still, the only ting that was a match for a Battlemech was another Battlemech so Vassily had the ante. Or not, he checked his Heat Meter and it was right up, he performed a coolant flush and piloted the 'Mech to an open warehouse. He hid inside one of the many warehouses in this area; he was near the Spaceport so it made logical sense that there would be warehouses here. Next he did something no half sane person would ever do, unless their 'Mech was rapidly becoming a sauna. He shut down the 'Mech, rolled out the ladder and climbed down to the ground, taking a laser rifle with him Vassily went out onto the street and listened for the arrival of the Partisans. It wasn't long before the rumbling filled the otherwise relatively silent street. Vassily sprinted back to his 'Mech, climbed back up and waited for the tanks to roll past, they came by in line abreast formation. Vassily powered up his 'Mech and unleashed a volley of pulse rounds at the tanks, two were demolished but the other two floored it and disappeared from Vassily's line of sight. He slowly walked the _Sunslayer_ out of the warehouse keeping a careful lookout on the radar for the Partisans, they were parked down the road at an intersection, facing broadside to him. As Vassily walked his 'Mech out they launched a hail of AC shells at him alternating the rapid firing cannons so fast that it looked like all four guns were firing at once. The _Sunslayer _was hit hard and forced to stagger backwards in order to stay standing under the barrage, Vassily was thrown about like a piece of paper in a tornado. Vassily's damage display started to show red patches where the AC shells were tearing off his armour. Huge pieces of the missile pods disappeared under bright explosions followed by half the armour on the centre torso just above the Sunslayer's head. Four rounds crashed into the _Sunslayers_ head exploding in a ring around the cockpit and cracking a pane of plexiglass. Then suddenly the pounding stopped, Vassily looked up and saw what remained of the Partisans: two burning hulks. Towering over the wreckage was a mixed Lance of two _Ravens_, and two _Uziels_.

"Mornin' Vassily, see you got yourself in a pickle there" Captain Gregory McDowell, CO of the Sundance LDV 1st Company 2nd Lance said from his flamboyant _Uziel_.

"Right, where is the rest of the Battalion?" Vassily cut through McDowell's pleasantries.

"1st Company's spread out across the Warehouse sector, 2nd is harassing another of Lagone's units that attacked the city and 3rd is sweep-clearing the city of the vehicles Lances that Lagone sent out across the city. By the way Dreanor's looking for you, he's fighting the main attack force, Lagone's reinforced his team with a Lance of _Panthers_, a Lance of _Uziels_ and a Lance of _Bushwackers_. Lets go" McDowell elaborated.

"Lead the way" Vassily followed McDowell's Lance, as they trooped towards the battle up ahead, from Vassily's radar neither side was making any effort to keep their EM signatures down and Vassily's radar display was filled with red and green dots. As soon as they reached the battle Vassily saw that things had degenerated into what looked like a Clan Grand Melee. Lasers, missiles, bullets and AC shells were flying in every direction, demolishing the warehouses, McDowell immediately joined in the fray, blasting his right PPC at a damaged _Panther's_ torso, the huge energy bolt melted what was left of the _Panther's_ armour, McDowell followed up with a blast from his other PPC and then a barrage from his SRM 6. Vassily saw the _Panther_ blasted backwards of its feet by the second PPC impact and blown apart as the SRMs hit its Fusion Reactor, he picked another Panther and started trading shots with it. The _Panther_ fired off a burst from its Lasers, followed up by a Pulse Laser that cut through the _Sunslayer's_ centre torso and melted a chunk of its Internal Structure. Vassily responded with a barrage of RAC5 shells, forcing the Panther's pilot to focus on keeping his 'Mech upright. Three PPC blasts blew a hole clean through the Panther and sent it crashing into a tall, office block, Vassily torso twisted around, McDowell and his right hand man in the Lance's other _Uziel_ had already swung back and engaged other targets. A blast threw Vassily against his restraints, he brought the _Sunslayer_ about, loosing a quick burst at one of Lagone's _Uziels_, the stream of RAC shells melted a dozen craters in the _Uziel's _torso, the hole was quickly exploited by an LDV _Rooster_ which fired its right LRM 10 and blew a bigger hole in the _Uziel's_ torso. Vassily's attention was returned to his aggressor, whom he saw from his radar was piloting a _Bushwacker_ and was backed up by Lagone's last _Panther_, four Vedettes and two Harasser hover vehicles. Vassily quickly reviewed what he knew about his enemy, a _Bushwacker_ was, like he _Sunslayer_ based on a Clan _Vulture_ but had an AC 10, a devastating cannon. Vedettes were light vehicles mostly used as light anti armour vehicles and Harassers were fast hover vehicles armed with SRM 6s used for, as the name suggested harassment work. The _Bushwacker_ caught Vassily with a bolt from its Heavy Laser and the Panther fired its PPC but mercifully missed. Vassily turned his 'Mech and ran down past an old office building, but not before the Vedettes caught him in the back with five rounds from their ACs. More warning lights sprung up as Natasha's voice came over the comm. And his Heat Meter edged higher into the yellow.

"Vassily get back here now! Return to the Mech Hangar!" Sarah shouted through a sudden storm of static

"I am under fire Ordivodsky!" Vassily snapped, a barrage of SRMs, AC shells and Lasers smashed into the _Sunslayer's_ back and drove it forwards. The left Missile Pod was finally blown clean off, leaving little more than a few jagged ends of support bars. Twelve AC rounds hit the right leg and put it out of action as the explosive shells wrecked the internal gyros. This is it, Vassily thought, he would die right here right now, as the _Sunslayer_ limped away under a barrage of fire Vassily twisted the control columns and the 'Mech slowly, painfully torso twisted towards his soon to be killers. The arm swung out and Vassily gave them everything he had. A return hail of RAC shells flew out, insignificant against the overwhelming return fire, more and more of Vassily's damage indicators started to turn red. Vassily reached down and pulled the eject lever. The explosives on the chair blasted out and filled the cockpit with smoke, but nothing else happened "A misfire! Fuck!" Vassily yelled, with the explosives blasted out there was no way out of the cockpit. Smoke filled the cockpit as the Heat Meter edged into the red Vassily prepared to die as the _Sunslayer's_ right leg was further blasted to shreds and his weapon pod wrecked beyond recognition, leaving Vassily unarmed. The sky overhead turned white as a stream of LRMs soared towards him like the white skies he would soon ascend to. The LRMs soared over his head, their slipstream knocking loose fragments of armour of the mech and crashing into the Bushwacker and Panther in a blinding white explosion, more LRMs kept the blast building for half a minute until the white glare cleared away. It would take Vassily half an hour to get the after image out of his eyes. Vassily turned what was left of his 'Mech towards the most welcoming sight of his life; General McGuire's Command Lance was grouped at the end of the street. General McGuire's _Thundeneer_, the _Sunslayers_ of Commander McGuire and Lieutenant Commanders Brad Hicks and Owen Ford. Standing two on either side of the Command Lance was the 1st Company's Command Lance, Vassily's Lance. The Company Commander, Major Matt Anderson in his dirty old _Rifleman_, Lieutenant James Kell's _Sunslayer_ and Lieutenant Toby Dwyer in his _Raven_. All of them had smoking missile pods.

"Kasparov get your ass back to base and get that heap of crap put back together, a pickup Bigbird is on its way" General McGuire ordered.

"Roger sir" Vassily replied, McGuire downloaded a set of co-ordinates to Vassily's map, a small park where the Bigbird had landed and was picking up several damaged 'Mechs from 2nd Company. Vassily dragged his battered 'Mech towards it, the park was just around the corner and the Bigbird had landed square in the middle. The Sikorsky Y-22 Bigbird was a massive, multi-ton helicopter designed for carrying 'Mechs, it could carry a whole Lance at once in fact, it looked like a 20th Century V-22 Osprey but several times larger and sporting not two but four props. The _Sunslayer_ limped up onto the helicopter and was locked into place moments before the reactor's heat systems failed and the 'Mech died. The Bigbird lifted off, its massive engines and six metre wide props just able to lift it and its cargo off the ground, the huge helo turned in midair and made its slow course towards the Burningham LDV's base.

BURNINGHAM 

**LDV Base**

**Mech Hangar**

"Well you really wrecked my 'Mech Vassily" Sarah said in a mock 'surly mechanic' tone, she was actually just happy to see her 'Mech safe again and in as few pieces as possible, and her Mechwarrior. "You're not going back out there in this thing, it'll take me a couple of days to fix my 'Mech up."

"Your 'Mech?" Vassily shot back.

"Just because its got your name under the canopy doesn't mean it isn't my 'Mech. 'Mechs always belong to their mechanic" Sarah explained the belief held by every mechanic since the machine had been invented.

"You keep thinking that while your fixing up _my_'Mech" Vassily turned and left while Sarah thought up a reply so he could claim having the last word.

"A mechanic is always closer to her 'Mech than a pilot" Sarahcalled after him.

Vassily growled to himself and walked out.

**12-5-3070**

Vassily's _Sunslayer_ was finally operational again, he stood at its feet admiring the job Sarah had done on his 'Mech, the _Sunslayer_ was in pristine condition again and its Ace of Spades paint was gleaming in the hangar's floodlights. "There, she's working again and fully loaded up this time." Sarah said proudly from her perch on the top of the missile pod.

"Yeah it always helps when your mechanic decides to put some ammunition in your 'Mech" Vassily replied.

"You know you've been to busy complaining to notice my special touch." Sarah said with an air of superiority that indicated that she thought the round was hers.

Vassily ran his eyes over the Sunslayer and spotted the addition immediately, a pair of short, thin barrels had been added just above the missile pods "What are they?" he asked.

"Grenade Launchers, fire Smoke, Flare, Beacon, ST-16 or just basic AP Grenades". He looked out over the assorted 'Mechs in the massive hangar. The tall machines were like dormant, sleeping beasts. Vassily watched for a moment and the stood up.

"I'll let you get back to your work" He indicated the open maintenance hatch, surrounded by tools. For some reason Vassily picked up some scent he hadn't noticed before: a smell of cherries, perplexed he glanced around searching for the source of the smell. He finally traced it back to Natasha she was wearing perfume today.

"…And that should give you, Vassily stop staring at me and pay attention!" Sarah snapped.

"What? Oh yeah I heard it all, I was just impressed you'd managed to fix my 'Mech so quickly, I'll let you get back to work" Vassily quickly covered. Why had he been staring at her? Vassily pushed the thought to the back of his head as he turned away.

"Wait Vassily, notice something different?" Natasha shouted and flicked her black ponytail over her shoulder.

Vassily spotted it instantly "You've changed your hair colour" he said indifferently.

"Like it?" Natasha asked.

"Its nice, want me to run diagnostics while you finish up?" Vassily answered evasively.

"Sounds good, get my 'Mech up and running and I'll put this plate back."

Vassily wasn't willing to get into another argument about who the _Sunslayer _belonged to, he'd already lost five times to Sarah and wasn't willing to make it umber six, but then again conceding without a word was loosing. He slid down the slope of the centre torso and dropped into the cockpit, Vassily brought the 'Mech online and began running diagnostics, triple checking every nut bolt and circuit board on his _Sunslayer_. It took about three hours to run diagnostics on a Heavy 'Mech but it was worth the effort. Calibrating the actuators for their perfect response ratio, tuning the engine's myriad of parts so they ran perfectly and most important of all, aligning the _Sunslayer's_ main gun barrels so they spun perfectly while remaining aligned to the RAC mounted behind them. Eventually the entire diagnostics check was complete, Vassily sat back in the cockpit.

"What are you waiting for?" Sarah asked from the right missile pod.

An alarm tore through the hangar signaling yet another attack, there's a common joke in Burningham 'It's a quiet day when the city is only attacked twice' as such Vassily, like most Mechwarriors on Sundance was usually wearing his combat suit all the time, rather than the standard uniform. Vassily grabbed his Neurohelmet and slid it onto his head. He flipped the transparent visor down over his eyes and began powering up the 'Mech and for the second time was the first out onto the battlefield.

"Have fun" Sarah called as she leapt onto the elevator on the 'Mech's gantry.

**SUNDANCE HPG STATION**

200 kilometers west of Burningham

Terrance Corsi picked up the three Lances of _Fire Ants_ and _Urbanmechs_ first, followed by…she checked her scans again, double checked the EM readings and then ran the whole network's programming through diagnostics, but no its was still there.

A Star of _Vultures_ proudly displaying their Clan insignias and making no secret of their intentions was marching on the HPG Station and would be there in just half an hour.

Corsi quickly opened up a document and began typing:

_SUNDANCE HPG STATION_

_TERRANCE CORSI_

_RE: UNDER ATTACK BY CLAN MECHS_

This is a priority 2 communiqué from the HPG Station, Clan Vulture class Heavy Battlemechs have been sighted heading this way. This is not a hoax, the 'Mechs detected are of Clan origin and according to preliminary sensor sweeps and camera footage belong to o known Clan. We have only a set of Medium AC turrets to defend ourselves with and request immediate assistance or we will be destroyed. Attached is a copy of all data pertaining to this matter that has been gained through our scanners.

Corsi quickly attached the data and sent it to the Burningham LDV, she then printed out another copy of the scanner readings and several stills from the border cameras and sprinted through the corridors to Commander Ian Larson's office down the other end of the building…

BURNINGHAM LDV COMMS ROOM 

"Sir priority comm. from the HPG Station!" the on-duty comm. officer shouted.

"Let me see" Captain Tyler Briggs snapped in a deep British accent, he snatched the message out of the printer and read through it, then read it again just to be sure it wasn't his eyes. No it was real; it even had the nigh impossible to replicate ComStar logo on the paper. He marched back to his station, picked up the phone and said, "Put me on with General McGuire, I have something he should hear about…"

BURNINGHAM 

**LDV BASE**

GENERAL MCGUIRE'S OFFICE 

"McGuire" General Douglas McGuire picked up the phone as he combed his thinning silver hair that barely covered his smooth head.

"Sir we just got a comm. from the HPG Station, they say they've got Clanners heading their way, specifically a Star of Jade Falcon _Vultures_" Briggs filled McGuire in on the situation.

"Alright, sound the call' Maguire ordered. Like most in the outer regions of space, flatteringly known as being the 'ass end of no-where' he didn't stand on formality "All right, thankyou Tyler" he repeated, hung up and flicked the switch on his desk marked 'Red Alert'.

The sirens all across base blared out with their typical wailing noise. In the barracks 3rd Lieutenants Jim Harrison and Adam Taylor of the 3rd Company 3rd Lance looked up from their card-covered table at the sound. "Here we go again" Taylor said as the two hurriedly pulled on their combat suits and sprinted out to the Mech Hangar where their _Ravens_ were waiting…

Vassily was half way out through the city before he was given the order to turn back to base. Thoroughly pissed off he swung the big 'Mech around and kicked her into full speed, bringing the relatively agile Heavy up to its maximum speed. He turned and headed for the Dropship pad at base.

**BURNINGHAM LDV BASE**

**DROPSHIP PAD**

The Drophship's landing pad was a raised block of reinforced concrete that was cracked and worn from a general lack of maintenance, the elements and the immensely heavy Dropship landing on it for years. The Burningham LDV's Dropship was a fifty year old, barely functional _Union_-Class that was half flying death trap, half flying latticework of steel grids. In several places the ship's armour plates had fallen off leaving the grids of steel Internal Structure exposed. Several craters from weapon impacts were also visible including a massive hole under the bridge, several PPC craters along its flanks and most worryingly a gaping hole in one of its engine tubes. The ends of the tubes were frayed and cracked as well. Surrounding the dropship were a set of gantries, two for boarding and two for loading cargo. Around the base of the gantries were clusters of crates, barrels and trucks. The whole pad was ringed with now dim beacon lights and razor wire fence. At each corner was an AC gun turret that fired through a hole cut in the fence. Vassily piloted his _Sunslayer_ up the ramp and into a bay inside the Dropship's cavernous hold. The half of 1st Company managed to squeeze in, the group would have been larger had it not been for the fact that 1) The Dropship's heavily abused reactor would be able to provide enough power to carry any more 'Mechs, and 2) A number of the Mech Bays had stopped working over the years and had either simply seized up or collapsed leaving piles of wreckage at their bases. Vassily wasn't afraid of flying but the thought of flying in this barely working death trap was something to be scared about, and so was taking on the Clans if they made it there alive…


	3. Lords of War

CHAPTER 3: THE LORDS OF WAR

_Hodges: "Clanners, Clanners! Repeat we have inbound Clan 'Mechs!"_

_Barclay: "Well whaddaya want me to do about it!" _

_Hodges: "Just thought you should know so you can start running"-comm. transmissions between Lieutenants Hodges and Barclay during a Clan attack._

**SUNDANCE**

**200 KILOMETERS WEST OF BURNINGHAM**

**ALBUQUERQUE**

Dave Lewis heard the rhythmic pounding as he shouldered the vat of water from Albuquerque's water mine. Albuquerque was a miniature Sundance, going down the drain. It had once been a semi-prosperous mining town where everyone was either a farmer or a miner, or later worked at the airstrip. Unfortunately the water mine that had been the source of Albuquerque's income had dried up several years ago and now all that was left of the town was the mine, a meeting hall and about a dozen shanties, shacks and sheds built out of scavenged steel sheets and wood. The mine itself was little more than a hole in the ground with about five small towers at various points along the hole's walls, each tower had a small crane on it. Around the hole were a few offices and a couple of water towers. In the distance was the old hangar where the town had stored its two government-granted shuttles. The roof had collapsed last year taking one of the shuttles with it and the other one had broken down recently. Not that the runway was in any state to be used, it was little more than a wide line of crumbled concrete chunks.

The rumbling grew louder as Dave lugged the barrel of water to the massive water tanks, past what was left of the wood and wire fence. Then the source of the rumbling cleared the rise, 'Mechs! Five of the running in line, Dave didn't know much about 'Mechs but he did know about the Clans (Or as much as rumours could be counted as knowledge). The Clan 'Mechs thundered through the town, crushing several houses and earning the anger of old Nestor, who stepped out of his house and emptied a dozen shotgun shells on the Clanners. Horrifyingly, one of the huge bird-like 'Mechs turned and blasted Nestor's house with its Laser, the blast burned Nestor to a pile of ash with it. "You bastards! You shit-eating bastard Clanner sons-of-bitches!" Dave roared, for all the good it would do. The Clan 'Mechs continued on their way.

HPG STATION 

It was absolute chaos at the HPG Station, people and vehicles were bustling everywhere, preparing to defend the base. The steel haired Commander Ian Larson sprinted down the corridor, made a right and arrived inside the massive HPG Station itself, also where Command was located. Organized chaos was the order of the day with people bustling everywhere and orders yelled back and forth. The entire base was gearing up for the attack and bringing the clusters of AC, Calliope and LRM Turrets online. The sat-com arrays in space showed a Star of _Vultures _inbound, _Shadow Cats _and _Stormcrows_ were moving across the planet targeting outlying defense posts. The Northwind LDV had already engaged two Stars of Mediums and the Southspire LDV were being wiped out by a Binary of _Mad Cats_. Fortunately the HPG Station's defenses were probably capable of taking out the incoming _Vultures _and reinforcements were on their way...

BURNINGHAM 

General McGuire sprinted out from his second cousin's home in a small residential district in Burningham as the warning sirens wailed across the city, he dived into his two-seater 1972 Aston Martin, lovingly preserved in the home of a collector who he'd save back in 3043 when he'd been a lot younger. But now McGuire didn't have time for memories he started the ancient vintage car and it purred beautifully, McGuire put the car into gear and pealed out into the dusty streets in full throttle. The Aston Martin roared to its considerable top speed as McGuire tore towards the base, just then a Clan Dropship roared overhead weapons blazing. A split second later a colossal blast roared up from the base, McGuire drove faster. When he arrived the base was nothing but a smoking crater filled with wreckage and burned bodies. The entire Administration Block, Barracks and Command Centre were gone. Twisted metal and jagged walls rose from the blasted ruins and the few survivors staggered about seemingly oblivious to the moans and cries for help. Maguire had no time for this, the Aston Martin roared through the wreckage dodging the survivors who groped out for the vintage. At last Maguire found his office, which was mercifully undamaged, the only building still standing in the compound. He pulled up and leapt out leaving the door open and the keys still in the ignition, Maguire knew he would regret it but there weren't many places one could hide a 1972 Aston Martin on Sundance and he had more important issues. Maguire ran in through the office to his desk and grabbed the comm. Unit; it was dead. "Shit!" Maguire snapped he wasn't a man given over to profanity but this wan certainly a situation that warranted it. He glanced out the window towards the Mech Hangar, it didn't seem to badly damaged from here so Maguire made a snap decision to check it out, maybe a Mech or two had survived the colossal explosion. He jumped back in the Aston Martin and stamped down on the accelerator just as the ominous sight of a colossal Clan Dropship roared overhead and stopped. Hovering above the base it slowly descended, ramps opening as it did so and the shapes of Battlemechs easily recognizable. The Dropship touched down and disgorged about ten Clan 'Mechs along with at least thirty power armoured Elementals. For a moment everyone stared at each other, then the Clanners opened fire...

Sarah watched the brutal massacre from her hiding place in the somewhat still standing Mech hangar. She wasn't a soldier, had little combat training and the only weapon she had was a laser pistol that she kept in her room. She looked for a way out as five Elementals headed towards the hangar and spotted a small cargo skiff piled high with supplies. Natasha ran to it and started up the vehicle, it rose up, spluttered and crashed to the ground, she jumped out and looked for another escape route when everything went black...

_"We have a prisoner Commander"_

_"Excellent"_

_"No sign of Kasparov"_

_"Find him and bring him to me, alive" _

OUTPOST 43 

The _Powel_l touched down on the landing pad at Outpost 43, a small, walled base on the edge of the Great Desert, the massive sea of sand that sprawled across all three continents. As the massive, much abused _Union _Class touched down it blew a wall of dirt across the entire base. Outpost 43 served as a Dropship base and nothing more, it was a 500 square metre concrete pad, cracked from many years of abuse that was occupied by a landing pad surrounded by a gantry, office and several small tanks. Two fenced off fuel tanks sat behind the gantry, one's roof had fallen in and the fuel pipes were cracked and broken. About thirty buildings of various shapes and sizes occupied the rest of the base. A Command Centre, Air Control Tower, radio station, Satcom uplink and several garages, barracks and armouries rounded out the building complement. Defending the base was about a dozen Heavy Laser and LRM Turrets backed up by a similar number of light jeeps, a couple of Centipedes and the commander's Vedette. Vassily noted all of this with disdain as he walked the _Sunslayer_ down off the Powell. The base personnel had probably never seen a Battlemech in their entire lives and now stood gawping as eight of them marched through the base and clustered just beyond the walls. Vassily popped the canopy, climbed up on his Mech's back and enjoyed the view from ten metres up while he waited for the rest of the LDV to arrive...

…Vassily jolted awake to the sound of gunfire and sat up, all around him a battle had suddenly materialized. Impossibly a Star of _Mad Cats _were dueling with the seven 'Mechs Vassily had arrived with. How the hell did they get so close? Vassily decided to worry about that later as he slid into his 'Mech's cockpit and fired her up. The moment he fired up a _Vulture _materialized out of thin air in front of him and a message crackled on his comm.

"_Freebirth scum, I offer you Hegira, withdraw now and I will let you live"_

"Like hell I will you fucking Cannister-Mopper!" Vassily shouted. Without warning he fired both his RACs. The fusillade of high-explosive shells ripped into the flimsy Clan Heavy. The _Vulture _despite mounting a fearsome number of LRMs was fairly poorly armoured for a Heavy 'Mech, let alone a Clan heavy 'Mech. The barrage smashed the _Vulture _and caused internal explosions to ripple across its body. The Heavy went critical and was vapourized by its own reactor in a blinding explosion. Suddenly two more _Vultures _appeared and fired their LRM20s. Vassily pushed down on his controls and the _Sunslayer _ducked, a move he'd been perfecting in his down time. Most of the missiles missed but five slammed against the top of his 'Mech, wrecking one Grenade Launcher and smashing craters in his plate steel armour. His 'Mech stood and returned fire, sweeping one _Vulture _with a barrage of RAC fire and a blast from his Medium Laser. The Clan 'Mech staggered back with thirty smoking craters in its armour. Vassily used the opportunity to hit it with a barrage of his own LRMs, the missiles blew away the _Vulture's _right arm and rendered its right missiles pod useless. Without warning Vassily was slammed against his restraints by a powerful barrage of Pulse Laser fire. His own 'Mech staggered sideways as dozens of glowing craters were melted in his armour. Vassily managed to turn the 'Mech's torso enough to get of a burst of RAC fire that ripped into the _Vulture's _hip. Something sparked and the bird-like 'Mech staggered. That gave Vassily the opportunity to bring both his RACs to bear and return his own barrage. The stream of RAC shells first blew the right arm off then caused an explosion in the left pod that wrecked the 'Mech's arm as well. Vassily opened up a comm. channel to the ruined _Vulture_ "Clanner, you have been defeated, I offer _you _Hegira, run now or die"

"_You will die for your insolence Freebirther!"_ Was the bellowed reply. The _Vulture _pilot made a suicidal maneuver: he tried to charge Vassily, who dispatched him with a casual barrage of RAC fire.

Again, two _Vulture _materialized from thin air one either side of Vassily's 'Mech. As both fired their LRMs Vassily ducked again before remembering with a surge of horror something his old Drill Sergeant had taught him: No trick works twice on the Clans. Almost eighty LRMs hit his 'Mech, demolishing both its arms and missile pods and sending almost every remaining section critical. The force slammed Vassily's head against the side of his cockpit and the whole world suddenly went black…


	4. Ghosts of the Past

CHAPTER 4: GHOSTS OF THE PAST

"_The Steiner Family on Exmouth have shown a very down to ear attitude and are very popular with their loyal followers. In fact I believe they may be one of the most popular royal families around"-Reporter Jack Dundee, Think Tank episode on the Exmouth Royal Family_

**EXMOUTH**

**STEINER ROYAL PALACE**

"Get the fuck of the ground you worthless piece of shit! You think you're good enough to be Mechwarrior, you aren't even good enough like the dust off my boots!" The soldier picked himself off the ground; he had short brown hair and cold gray eyes. He raised his fits and prepared for the next attack. The Drill Instructor moved like lightning and dropped him to the ground in two seconds "You stupid worthless piece of monkey-shit! Use your reactions, I know you've got fast reactions, use 'em" The soldier stood again, this time when the Drill Sergeant came at him he blocked the attack, quickly two more lightning attacks were blocked. The soldier was forced back but blocked every attack. "Good, good, you'll make a good pilot someday Sire"

"Thank you Sergeant" Dimitri Steiner replied, wiping the trickle of blood from his mouth…

…Later that night after dinner with his family Dimitri retired to his lavish quarters. As a Steiner noble no expense was spared on his room, But he had other plans tonight. He crossed to his console and printed off the documents he had stored, they were new ID documents. The label read 'KASPAROV, Vassily Dimitri' he put them all in a folder and that in a rucksack which contained some simple clothes, a PDA and Sisko M-43 10mm pistol. Then he changed into a sleeveless white shirt, black leather jacket and jeans. Dimitri pulled on a set of leather boots and then completed the look by throwing a dark cloak over his head. It looked perfect, he looked like just another pilgrim, one who would be forcibly ejected when he was caught and caught he would be. He stepped from his room and walked quickly down the corridor, as planned…

"Hey you!"

Dimitri turned, keeping his head down "yes sir?"

"You're not allowed here, move it" The gurad was tall and powerfully built, plus he had a Seburo CZ-800 Heavy Rifle. Dimitri forced himself to remember that the guard would shoot him if he tried anything.

"But I've forgotten the way out" he answered meekly.

The guard groaned irritably but said "Alright, follow me" then muttered something.

Within just an hour Dimitri found himself at a spaceport with a ticket on the next Jumpship to another planet. Now officially Vassily Kasparov he had achieved his dream. He was free…

…"Dimitri has vanished!" Came the shout from the door of the throne room. Alexa Steiner rose from her chair and gave the guard an appraising look as he panted in front of her.

"Sir…sir Dimitri has vanished my Duchess…there's no trace of him anywhere"


	5. Recuperation

CHAPTER 5: FOX TWO

_Dropship Two Five: This is Dropship Bravo Two Five, we have the artillery sighted…weapons locked, LRMs are ready. Fox Two._

_Harpy Lead: Target locked, Fox Two_

_Harpy Two: Confirm sighting, missiles ready, Fox Two_

_Harpy Three: I have the artillery, Fox Two._

_Massive explosions_

_Dropship Two Five: Target is smoked, Romeo Company you are clear to move._

_Romeo Company: Cheers Two Five, its been a pleasure working with you. Romeo Company over and out._

_-Battlerom transcript during the battle of Tukkayid_

**SUNDANCE**

**OUTPOST 43**

"Uhh what the hell?" Vassily groaned as he opened his eyes. He was lying on a hard concrete floor. As his vision cleared he saw he was lying in a ruin. The details came back slowly; this must be what was left of Outpost 43. "What happened?" he groaned.

"Hey, you're awake" The speaker was a lanky man with short gray hair and blue eyes. It was Captain Dreanor, commander 2nd Company 1st Lance, who Vassily had shipped out here with. "Well, I hate to put this on you when you just woke up but we got our asses kicked. As far as we can determine we're the oly LDV still around, Southspire is gone and he Northwinds have been scattered and are down to two Lances. We're all that's left of 2nd Company, again from what we can determine 3rd Company has been wiped out and 1st is down to six 'Mechs in strength, in short we're almost wiped out."

"Shit, exactly what happened?" Vassily asked as he sat up, but a wave of pain forced him to lie down again.

"Those Cannister-Moppers just appeared out of thin air and took us down fast. We lost four 'Mechs but then you took down three _Vultures_. That sort of got us fighting again and we took down two _Mad Cats _and smashed up a third. But the other two were really good, and then…then Lagone showed up.

"The jackass who attacked the city every few days?"

"The very same" a heavy Italian voice said, Dominic Lagone appeared from the shadows. He had short, curly black hair and green eyes; he was dressed in a combat suit. "I decided kicking the Cannister-Moppers back where they belong was a higher priority than getting off this god forsaken rock. I've decided to bury the hatchet in order to present a united front against the Clanners"

"We now have four _Sunslayers_ a _Thundeneer_, two _Uziels_, two _Ravens_, a _Trebuchet_ and a _Cougar_. Not too bad I guess" Dreanor's 2IC Pritchard spoke up.

"How's my 'Mech?" Vassily asked.

"Not good, both her arms and missile pods are gone but she can still walk and the Medium laser still works. But other than she's ruined. Sarah's gonna be pissed" Pritchard replied.

Vassily didn't bother replying but instead asked, "How did our base go?"

At this the collective military pilots hung their heads "The Clanner leveled the entire Admin, Command and Barracks complex. The entire command staff will be dead but most of our pilots were away when it happened."

"What's our plan?"

"Think of one" Lagone replied this time.

'Lets get some sleep, everything looks better in the morning" Dreanor ordered. Someone got Vassily a pillow and he immediately fell asleep.

Dreanor watched over the hodgepodge unit and prayed they would be able to fight effectively. Deciding to worry about it later he closed his eyes and let his exhaustion claim him…

…It was mid afternoon in the ruined Outpost 43 and the sun beat down on the charred wreckage. Vassily opened his eyes to the sound of a loud roar, he scrambled to his feet and looked from the ruin the group were bunking in. It turned out to be the now leveled base's HQ. The entire base was just as ruined, all the buildings were ruined and the turrets were just slag heaps. He looked up and saw the source of the roar: it was the _Powell_, the Burningham LDV's much abused _Union­_-Class Dropship. The egg-shaped death trap touched down just outside the base since the two landing pads were out of commission. Vassily guessed it was from the blast that must have occurred when the Fuel Tanks behind the base were blown up. The hatch lowered and a single, armless _Bushwacker _trotted out bearing the LDV badge. Vassily took off his coolig vest and waved it around until the _Bushwacker _noticed him and walked towards the base. The 'Mech stopped and its rope ladder fell to the ground, someone climbed down it and ran towards him, it took Vassily a moment to remember who the long black ponytail belonged to. "Sarah!" The next moment he was enveloped in a crushing bear hug that squeezed the air from his lungs. "Sarah…can't breathe" Vassily gasped.

"Ohh sorry, sorry" Sarah stepped back and looked Vassily up and down; he must have looked awful considering the reaction on her face. "I was…I was so scared, you have no idea what happened at base. They killed everyone" Sarah forced out, clearly traumatized by what happened.

"Who's that?" Lagone called.

"Tech Sergeant Sarah Ordivodsky" Sarah called back.

"Orright, call me if someone starts shooting"

"So what happened back at base?" Vassily asked.

Sarah hung her head and spoke with difficulty "They landed in an _Overlord IIC _and just killed everyone. For some reason they took me alive…but they did't watch me too well and I was able to escape in that _Bushwacker_. I found the _Powell _and what was left of 1st Company minus General Maguire; they faired the best of all us. How did you go?"

"My entire Lance is history, my 'Mech is crippled but Lagone saved us from being wiped out" Vassily quickly filled Sarah in o the main points.

"Lag…Dominic Lagone, the same one who kept attacking us!"

"Yep, the same one, apparently he hates the Clanners so he's put aside his differences for the time being. Its not like we have much of a choice considering he has seven 'Mechs that we need" Vassily replied. For the first time Vassily noticed how tired Sarah looked, there was blood caked on her face and a healing cut above he left eye. She wavered and collapsed against Vassily, he deftly caught her before she fell. "How long have you been awake?"

"All day yesterday and today, the best part of two days' Sarah said before yawning hugely. "I should get to work on your 'Mech, I know you've totaled it again."

"Well I took down three _Vultures _before they got me, besides it can still walk, I want you to get some sleep" Vassily said, in reality his 'Mech needed immediate surgery but Sarah was more important than eighty tons of metal.

"But…"

"Now, sleep, that's an order sergeant" Vassily pulled rank, he knew it was the only way Sarah would listen to him. Sarah was so exhausted she could barely walk; Vassily pretty much carried her to his pillow and put her down on it. "I promise you can berate me for totaling the 'Mech when you've got some sleep"

Sarah smiled vaguely "Promise…" she drifted off to sleep almost immediately. Vassily stood and went to find his 'Mech; she was out in the desert, powered down with no arms or missile pods. Sarah was going to kill him when she woke up...

…The ragtag group stayed at the ruined base for another week, all the time picking up reports and desperate cries for help from the splintered remnants of the Sundance Militia. Their moral was somewhat boosted by the remaining members of 1st Company, Commander Angus Maguire had taken command of the LDV but was still reeling from his fathers death. With him were a _Catapult _pilot called Stackhouse, Gregory McDowell and his _Uziel_ and a short Korean woman called Sun Li who piloted an old but tough _Anubis_. All together they had nearly a full Company, but most of the 'Mechs were damaged and in need of serious repair. The dozen technicians with the aid of the 'Mech pilots and the Second Infantry Platoon worked for four days to get their 'Mechs back in working order. Sarah worked harder than all of them, stripping Vassily's _Sunslayer _completely and almost rebuilding it. Fortunately it seemed that the 'Mech's arms and missile pods had been shaved off cleanly without too much damage to their mountings. It took Sarah five days to get the _Sunslayer _operational again. During which she also managed to add some extra armour and replace the standard Heat Sinks with scavenged Clan Double Heat Sinks. That solved the _Sunslayer's _heating problems and allowed Sarah to replace add a second Medium Laser to the Heavy's chin turret. On their last day before Dreanor declared it was time to leave Sarah woke Vassily from a deep sleep in a bed that had survived in the ruined barracks.

"What, what, what ! I'm awake already!" Vassily muttered, he sat up in a pair of shorts and wifebeater. "Sarah do you mind, I was sleeping"

"Vassily come on, I have to show you something!" Sarah was practically hoping with excitement.

"Aright, alright, just let me get up. Vassily clambered out of the bed and pulled his trousers and combat boots on. He fitted his webbing and grabbed the cooling vest and neurohelmet lying near the bed. It was too hot to put the jacket on so he just held it loosely in his hand.

"I never knew you had artwork" Sarah indicated Vassily's shoulders.

"What? Oh yeah" Vassily had five tattoos; two on his left shoulder were of an Ace of Spades and the Davion Sunburst. On his other shoulder was a tattoo of an eagle with an arrow in its talons. The other two were elsewhere. Vassily yawned as he followed Sarah out and filled her in on his artwork "I always had an Ace of Spades, its my lucky symbol, I figured the Davion Sunburst was appropriate since I guarded a Davion royal family and the eagle just looked cool. Now why are we going to the Dropship"

Sarah laughed at his comment but just cryptically replied, "It's a surprise" with a smile. The _Powell _had functioned as their Mech Hangar for the entire week and was strewn with 'Mech parts that the techs were rabidly working away to store. Vassily suddenly realized a problem: The _Powell_, due to its battered reactor and the fact that four of its 'Mech Bays no longer worked could only carry eight 'Mechs at a time, they had fourteen. But no, all the 'Mech Bays were full; someone must have managed to repair the _Powell's _reactor and bays.

"How did they managed to fix the _Powell_, I thought it was falling apart?" Vassily asked.

"Turned out it was nothing but a hell of a lot of dirt and grit, just needed a bit…well a lot of cleaning out. Poor maintenance really but she'll never fly at full speed again." Sarah explained. "Here she is" Sarah indicated Vassily's _Sunslayer_, complete with radical new additions. Painted on the left missile pod was a massive Ace of Spades card; on the other pod was an eagle with an arrow in its talons, exactly like Vassily's tattoos. The centre torso had a huge broadsword painted on its pointing downwards. Finally there were a set of snarling teeth painted on either side on the 'Mech's 'cheeks and a pair of glaring red eyes behind the canopy. Vassily looked over the flamboyant paintwork with his mouth hanging open. "What do you think?" Sarah said with a gleeful look at Vassily's reaction.

"Well other than the fact that I'll stand out like a _Jagermech _at a Lyran wedding its, its. Jesus its amazing Sarah, how the hell did you manage to do all this, and why? You know its just going to get ruined" Vassily worked hard to have something to say, he was still stunned by the elaborate artwork on his 'Mech.

"I was hoping this would inspire you to be a little more careful and bring my 'Mech back in one piece at least once" Sarah said with a disarming grin that made Vassily forget any objections he had to the artwork.

"I knew there was an ulterior motive, you'd never go to this much trouble merely for me" Vassily shot back with his own smile.

"Yeah well…damn you" For once Sarah had nothing to say, for he first time Vassily won a round.

"Point" Vassily muttered. Just as Sarah made to hit him a loud bellow cracked across the Hangar.

"We got incoming Clanners, ETA two hours! get this stuff packed and ready 'cause we aint waiting for them!" Dreanor bellowed. If it had been frantic activity before that in the Hangar it now dissolved into organized chaos as the techs redoubled their efforts and several off-duty soldiers pitched in. Vassily took one last glance at his 'Mech before pitching in alongside Sarah to get all the supplies stowed away. Strangely he wondered what he could call his 'Mech, one name sprung to mind and one it did it simply would leave no matter what he thought about.

Sarah.


End file.
